INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF A JOUENALIST.

Observer, Volume 7, Issue 233, 28 February 1885, Page 9

INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF A JOUENALIST.

C. O. Montkose(Nemo)

THE SIEGE OF ORAKAU (Concluded)

-No. LXXVIL— The Search for the Dead— r The Enemy's Losses — The British Losses— Officers and Men Mentioned in the Despatches ■ — General Cameron and Staff Return to Pukerimu — Attack on the Camp before Maungatautari Repulsed — Funeral of Captain Ring — Reioi's Determination — The Scene of Operations Diverted to the East Coast. Feeling of the Ngatimaniapolos — Disappointment at the Escape of the Maorisfront Orakau — A Newspaper Correspondent's Calumnies — How I Saved His Life — Another Testimonial from Taranaki — Plucky Conduct of the Royal Engineers. Having bivouacked for the night on the •scene of slaughter, on the morning of the ■3rd April the search for the dead was begun. Of the enemy 112 bodies were laid out in three lots, the first numbering 25, the second .29, and the third 22, besides 25 others which the natives acknowledged to have buried in •the works during the progress of the siege. J. believe, however, that the total number of Hhe Maori dead accounted for totted up to 126, and a considerable number must have been left in the tall ti-tree or removed by •the enemy during the night, as their tracks were plainly visible next morning. General Cameron estimated the enemy's loss in killed •at 150 out of a total of 300 in the pa. Twenty-six wounded Maoris were captured -and seven uninjured. Among the enemy's dead were 19 chiefs, whose names were as follow : — Taati Te Waru, Pairata, Hoani Tiri, Matawaia, Werata, Piripi Te Heuheu, -Paora Rau, Aporo Te Waru, Rene, Himiona, -Pouwherouoa, Rapana, Koimangiangiangi, Paiura, Maumau, Whakaiaue, Poteni, and .Kati. Among the wounded were several .females. Bewi, the great Ngatimaniapoto chief, was said to be among the wounded in the .-swamp, and a reward of £10 was offered for his body dead or alive, but though a diligent •search was made no trace of him was discovered. AU through the war in Taranaki as well as the Waikato this chief seems to have exhibited a remarkable degree of skill ia getting away unscathed. Like a cat he must have possessed more than one life. It will be remembered by the reader who has carefully followed this narrative that Rewi •was believed to have been among the •stormers who attacked No. 3 Redoubt on the .23rd January, 1861, but on this as well as many subsequent occasions he effected his •escape. The loss on the side of the British .amounted to 16 killed and 52 wounded. As it has been my aim throughout this narrative to make it as complete as possible, -as weH as to constitute it a record, I will here give a list of the casualties as compiled from the official despatch, though never until now published in the Press. 'They were as follow : — , KILLED. 18th. Royal lirish : Captain James T. .Ring, Sergeant W. Lawson, Privates J. Carx'oll,' M.^ Bellaine, T. Traynor, and Hugh Oassidy. 40th, 2nd Somersetshire : Sergeant Hugh Duncan, Private Wm. Love. 65th : Lance - Corporal John Barnett, Drummer R. Gilligan. 70th : Private T. Maskell. Forest Rangers : Sergeant Wm. Taylor, C Coghlan. Waikato Militia : Corporal Armstrong, Private John Leeky. WOUNDED. [Royal Artillery : Wm. Buckingham. 12th Regiment: Privates J. Clarkson and :j. Bevill. 18th : Corporal Johnson, Drummer James Lyon, Lance - Corporal George Carroll, Privates J. Close, G. Thomas, P. Fay, J. O'Donnell, J. Carlyle, J. Staunton, G. Gallagher, T. Hannon, and T. Jenkins. ' 40th : Captain Fisher, Sergeant W. Gould, 'Corporal W. : Wilson, Privates C. Gibby, A. Whitty, T. Brennau, S. Johnson, Martin •O'Farrell, G. Williams, G. Palmer, J. Ollingtton, G. Hoare, J. Sturgeon, J. Sidley, J. Shatlaeks, R. Graham,. J. Cox, H. Blake, and I\ Gonnell. 65th : Ensign Edward Clayton (afterwards .died), J: Ford, W. Meehan, J, Whitfield, ■3E. ivially, iWVDwyer, D. McGrath, T. Kennedy, S. Courtney, P. Petit. •Colonial Defence Force : Sergt. R. Kendwick,- Privates W. Coady and J. Tully. , Waikato Militia: Captain Herford (afterwards- died), Privates W. Molloy and J. Worby. Commissariat Transport Corps : Privates John Lovett, D. Callaghan, and — Preston. Many of the wounded subsequently died -from their injuries. The only loot found in the pa was a of tobacco of native growth aud ™oin*e potatoes in pits outside. The enemy's dead were buried during the ,day, poles being stuck up over the graves to mark the spot. Tn his despatch, General Carey praised the gallant conduct of Captain Baker, Captain Herford, Ensign Harrison, Sergeant McKay, Dr White, .and Assistant-Surgeon Spenser, 18th ; Dr Stiles, 40th ; Dr Hilston, R.A. ; Dr Mouati G.P., V.C., Principal Medical -Officer ; Colonel Leslie' and Major Blyth, 40th; Captain Blewitt, 6oth ; Captain Vere,.kdr, 12th; 'Captain Inman, 18th; Captain

Cay, 70th ; Captain Betty, R.A. ; Lieut. Rait, R.A. ; Lieut. Hurst, 12th ; Lieut.-Colonel Haultain, Waikato Militia ; Captains Jackson ••ind Von Tempsky, Forest Rangers ; Captain the Hou. Le Poer Treuch, 40th; and Mr Gilbert Mair, Interpreter to the Forces. In his despatch, to the Governor, General Sir Duncan Cameron remarked, "It is im-. possible not to admire the heroic courage and devotion of tlie natives in defending themselves so long against overwhelming numbers. Surrounded closely on all sides, cut off from their supply of water, and deprived of all hope of succour, they resolutely held their ! ground for more than two days, and did not abandon their position till the sap had reached the ditch of their last entrenchment." During the siege the troops expended 40,000 rounds of ball cartridge, and a large quantity of shot and shell and hand grenades. General Cameron and the staff returned to Pukerimu on the morning of the 3rd with detachments of the 18th and 70th. During their absence the enemy, to the number of about 250, probably supposing that the camp before the Maungatautari pas had been deserted, approached to within 150 yards and fired several vollies from behind a fence and ditch, but were easily driven off by two companies sent out by Colonel Waddy. Another wounded native was found in the swamp on the morning of the 4th, and at about 8 a.m. the whole of the troops marched back to Te Awamutu. The funeral of Captain Ring took place at 9 a.m. on the 4th, but was devoid of the parade which was usual on such occasions. The coffin was composed of plain deal boards, covered with the Union Jacd. General Carey and most of the officers and soldiers of the various regiments in camp joined in the funeral cortege, the burial service being impressively read by the Rev. A. Collins, Military Chaplain. Three rounds were fired over the grave by a firing-party consisting of 100 of the 18th Regiment. One of the prisoners reported that during the siege of Orakau some of the more fainthearted or prudent among the defenders wished to surrender, and were #bout to hoist a white flag, but that Rewi threatened to tomahawk the first man who showed the white feather, and when the proposal was repeated, actually carried his threat into execution. The fall of Orakau may be said to have practically broken the back of the rebellion in Waikato, for though some sharp encounters afterwards took place at the Gate Pa and Te Ranga, the Maoris in the former district seemed to have been completely cowed by their repeated defeats and severe losses. Some of them surrendered their arms and took the oath of allegiance to the Queen, others retired to the fastnesses of the Ngatimaniapoto country, while many crossed over to tho East Coast to reinforce the enemy who were in the field in the Tauranga district. Up to this time the Ngathnaniapotos had suffered only slightly in comparison with Ngatihaua and other Waikato tribes, who had borne the brunt of the struggle. They had lost some of their numbers in battle, but their lands were still intact. To prolong the war, however, would have drawn the troops into their territory, and this they were anxious to avoid by abstaining from acts of hostility and by diverting the scene of operations to a distance. Rewi, with that shrewdness which he has always exhibited, while he was willing to afford an asylum to his defeated countrymen, was careful to restrain them from prolonging the war in Waikato when he perceived that the Ngatimaniapoto territory Avas endangered. Naturally the escape of the Maoris from the Orakau pa excited much disappointment in certain circles, notwithstanding the fact, as stated above on the authority of General Cameron's despatch, that 150 out of 300 of the defenders were slain. That disappointment arose from various causes. The settlers who had suffered from Maori depredations, the stoppage of agricultural pursuits, the depression in all branches of trade' and industry, and in many instances the loss of relatives and friends thirsted for ' unstinted revenge. Many of them openly declared that they would be glad to see the whole Maori race exterminated to the last woman and child. This class of irreconcilables were naturally enraged that the entire garrison of Orakau was not massacred. Another section of the disappointed were those who had become disgusted with the frequent escape of Maoris froni pas which were . supposed to have been surrounded by the troops, resulting in the discovery of the traditional old woman or dog as the sole spolia opima of the glorious victory achieved. There were also some jealousies existing between the various corps serving at the front — a jealousy springing from the spirit of rivalry, which occasionally went beyond the bounds of prudence and that generous feeling of emulation which should animate brothers-in-arms. The civilian special correspondents of the newspapers very often became victims to this jealousy. Debarred by their position as non-combatants from serving in the immediate front, generally regarded by the Generals and Staff as a nuisance and a possible indirect means of apprising the enemy of important movements which were in contemplation, dependant,- through their ignorance of military matters, on such information as they could pick up from officers, and often from orderlies or mere camp followers— this class of special correspondents were peculiarly exposed, not only to errors and blunders of their own, but to being

deliberately hoaxed or misled by their informants, avlio Avould regard it as a good joke to humbug a civilian. ,

One of the most remarkable examples of this land was the special correspondent of I the Daily Southern Cross. I believe he never got within , three miles of the Orakau. Pa, but compiled his report from information supplied by orderlies and others passing between the front and Te Awamutu. , : One of these, who perhaps had no great love for the 40th or for any other corps of the Regulars, seems to have told a cock-and-bull story to the reporter about that regiment having allowed the Maoris to walk through their lines. The absurdity of such an idea will, of course, at once strike any reader in possession of his senses. No regiment in the colony had suffered so severely in casualties during the war, and none had so little reason to treat the natives with forbearance on the battle field. Moreover the 40th had eighteen honours on its colours, a number exceeded at that time by only one other corps in the British Service, the 60th Rifles, which had three battalions. Anyone who has served in the Army knows that the martial honour and reputation of a regiment is continuous, and never dies out. As fast as new men fill up the blanks caused by death and disease the traditions and the esprit de corps of the regiment are kept alive by the old soldiers, to be transmitted onwards by the young men, when in turn they shall have filled the places of their seniors. It is like a stream that never ceases to flow, like an hereditary title, or the army itself. The reader will therefore easily understand that a regiment which had distinguished itself at Mindcn, in Egypt, the Peninsula, at Waterloo, in India, and elsewhere in many of the great battles of the British Army was not likely to belie its reputatiou, least of all dishonour its colours in a war with semi-savages, whatever might be thought by a pusilanimous civilian who was not within three miles of the engagement, and had no stomach to approach nearer. But in a few days copies of the Southern Cross, containing the lying and disgraceful aspersions by this corres}oondent, reached the camp at Te Awamutu, and were handed round among officers and men, provoking intense disgust and rage. I was in one of the whares at the time. Three or four men with blood in their eyes rushed in, pointed their rifles at me, thrust a copy of the Southern Cross in my face, and exclaimed in tones of concentrated passion : " Who wrote this ? Who wrote it ? You must know — you write to the newspapers yourself. Tell us where he is ! We Avant him." I Avas one of themselves, and yet I had to solemnly assure them over and over, again, with the muzzles of the capped Enfield rifles pointed Avithin a few feet of my head, that I knew nothing of the correspondent in ques tion or his Avhereabouts, before they Avere satisfied. I saw men rushing about the outskirts of the camp poking their fixed bayonets into every tuft of flax or ti-tree, Avhile others were engaged searching the whares and every nook and cranny where a man might find a place of concealment. If the correspondent of the Southern Cross had been discovered that day his life would not have been worth a minute's purchase. I Avas standing at the door of my hut Avatching the excited crowds of men scouting about the camp, and listening to the threats and execrations uttered in every direction, when an orderly delivered me a Avhispercd message that the adjutant of the 40th, Lieut. Whelan, desired my attendance immediately, and, of course, I lost no time in obeying the summons. Lieut. Whelan directed my attention to a furze hedge on the north side of the camp at some distance, aud informed me briefly that if I wont over there quietly and unnoticed, I should find a civilian. Avhom I Avas to instruct to steal down the rivor bank under cover of the low grouud until he came to a canoe Avhich Avould be in Avaiting for him, and by which he could effect his escape. It struck me at once that the civilian would prove to be the correspondent of the Cross, and in this I was not mistaken. He began by announcing himself as the correspondent, but was apparently underating the imminent risk he Avas running. "Hush!" I said, pointing, through the hedge towards the camp ; " hush ! and keep down ! There are scores of desperate men over there with arms in their hands thirsting for your blood ! They Avould kill me too if they saAv me Avith you. Stoop low and creep into yonder heap of fern !" Once sheltered from observation, though 1 continued to sweep the tops of the fern Avith my eyes, I made my errand known to him, -and earnestly urged him to escape at once, promising to endeavour to lead the men on. a false scent. His chief difficulty, however, seemed to be that his paper would be left Avithout a representative, but it Avas arranged that I should take up the Avork, and Aye parted. Stealing across to the camp, I found the men still excited and vengeful, but, seizing a rifle, I said that I had heard that the man they were in search of had been seen in the swamp beyond the church, and leading the Avay, Aye dashed down the road and were soon actively engaged scouting ih a direction directly opposite to that Avhich the correspondent had taken. I. believe. I was instrumental in saving his life. I deceived my OAvn comrades because I could not see a defenceless civilian killed merely because he had been misinformed as to the facts in. describing an engagement. That incident, however, brought about my first connection with. - ■ yay • .

the Southern Cross', a connection AvhicH^was destined to dast. for some time, and to result^ in an appointment on its literary staff, which continued for some years, with the very man as manager whose, life T had assisted ip. saving. .-.-.•-_ I think I cannot do better than close the present chapter Avith some correspondence Avhich I iiave.~received.from a gentleman whose name has more than once figured in these Avritings. It is as folloAvs : — Waitara, Taranaki. N.Z., ,19th February, 1885. The Editor of the Observer, Auckland : Dear Sir, — Having read in the Observer the best and most accurate account of the Waikato War, I send you a Royal Engineer General order connected with the fight at Orakau, which I believe has not been published in New Zealand ; and as a number of the men of No. 6 Company, R.E., have settled in N.Z., they or their families might like to see a record of the gallant service rendered by men of a highly distinguished regiment, some of whom were wounded, but would not acknowledge it until after the fight was over. Their plucky conduct was made known to the men of the corps serving all through the English dominions.—Faithfully yours, 0. E. Hurst, late 12th Regiment and Assistant Royal Engineer Commanding Detachment Royal Engineers at Orakau.

[Cory.] To be read on Parade in Auckland and circulated through the Province of Auckland.— (Signed) Thos. R. Mould, Col. -Commanding Royal Engineers, — 17th July, 1865. ' Rotal Engineers. Promulgated at Auckland, 18/7/65. Nd. 489. Horse Guards, S.W„ 17th March, 1865. Corps General Orders. A letter having been received from the Officer Commanding Royal Engineers in New Zealand covering a report from Lieutenant Chas. E. Hurst, of the 12th Regiment (Assistant Engineer), detailing the engineering operations connected with the attack on the native pah at Orakau, between the 31st March and 2nd April, 1864, in which it is stated that the men of the 6th Company named in the margin [Sappers H. Barnes, J. Cox, J. Johnstone, J, Paterson, T. Richards], who were engaged in the attack, deserve tlie highest praise, as it was chiefly owing to the courage and intelligence of these men that the work was brought to sucli a satisfactory conclusion — the same was brought to the notice of His Royal Highness the Field- Marshal Com-manding-in-Chief, who wus pleased lo express much satisfaction at the manner in which they had performed their duty, and desired that His Royal Highness's approval of their good conduct should be made known to the Corps generally. Officers commanding Royal Engineers will therefore cause this order to be read out to the noncommissioned officers and men of the Corps serving in their respective districts at the first General Parade after receipt. By command of His Royal Highness the FieldMarshal Commanding-in-Chief. (Signed) Fred. E. Chapman, Colonel, Deputy Adjutant-General, Royal Engineers. The Officer-Commanding 6th Company Royal Engineers.